If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to batten down your marina docks[1], as the National Weather Service issued a ‘Wind Advisory[2]‘ this afternoon, warning of sustained winds of 20 – 35 MPH with gusts of 45 – 50 MPH possible through 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Here’s the advisory in its ALL CAPS glory:

…WIND ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY…

.A VIGOROUS FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BRING WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE LOWLANDS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON TONIGHT. LOCAL SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH ARE LIKELY.

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS…SEATTLE…BREMERTON…BELLEVUE…TACOMA…OLYMPIA… FORKS…HOQUIAM…AND THE LAKE LAWRENCE AREA IN THURSTON COUNTY.

* TIMING…SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING AND PEAK AROUND MIDNIGHT.

* WIND…LOCAL SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH AND GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH ARE LIKELY.

* IMPACTS…WHILE WINDS OF THIS STRENGTH SHOULD NOT CAUSE WIDESPREAD DAMAGE…THEY CAN BRING DOWN SMALL TREES AND BRANCHES. LOCAL POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS OF 45 TO 57 MPH ARE LIKELY.

And here’s the latest 7-day forecast, which mentions a chance of snow for Saturday:

Tonight: Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 42. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 20 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Wednesday: Showers, mainly before 10am. High near 44. Southwest wind 11 to 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 35. South wind 5 to 13 mph.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 42. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. North northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light north northeast in the evening.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 41.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34.

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow. Snow level 400 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain and snow showers. Snow level 500 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 43.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Monday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 43.

Monday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.